Why we do this

High up in the Peruvian Andes, over 30% of children under 5 years old suffer from chronic malnutrition, and 6 out of 10 children suffer from anemia and iron deficiency (*). The children don’t starve to death but they are also not leading the lives they deserve. Day after day they stave off their hunger with potatoes, which is the only crop that withstands the harsh conditions: freezing cold and infertile soil.

The children grow up in poverty. There is very limited access to quality education, clean drinking water and the level of healthcare provision is also quite deficient. Their monotonous nutrition (potatoes every single day) leads to stunted growth and illnesses.

Programmes from Peruvian government to tackle these problems don’t seem to be working very much. The aid stays in the pockets of the civil servants, entrepreneurs and middlemen. This inefficiency and corruption renders useless even the best laws. That’s why Por Eso! is working in Peru. We don’t want the children to lead the same lives as their mothers or grandmothers. We don’t want them to die from something which wouldn’t kill them in other parts of Peru. We want the indigenous people to have equal opportunities for development, prevent diseases and improve their quality of life.